The synopsis:
Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.
My thoughts: Honestly? The cover grabbed me, the blurb held me, but my interest really waned as I got further along in the story. I think reading the backstory on the author and her intent in this novel before reading the book would have made me the book a lot better for me. As it were, I side eyed the book the entire time I read it. I have a heavy issue with religion of the type featured in Small Town Sinners, and that was in my mind's eye the whole time. And there ultimately just felt like too much naivete was going on in this book, and oh man judgment. The pages and characters were rife with judgments they felt compelled to share. Again though, if I would have known up front that Walker was trying to underline and identify the Hell Houses traditionally associated with the Evangelical church, and not in a necessarily positive light, I think I would have had a different reaction to it. A good read, and it did evoke emotions, unfortch, they were mostly just annoyance
Posted by Ashley
The synopsis: TAKE ONE OUT OF WORK PASTY CHEF….Teeny Templeton believes that her life is finally on track. She’s getting married, she’s baking her own wedding cake, and she’s leaving her troubled past behind. And then? She finds her fiancé playing naked badminton with a couple of gorgeous, skanky chicks.
ADD A WHOLE LOT OF TROUBLE…
Needless to say, the wedding is off. Adding insult to injury, her fiancé slaps a restraining order on her. When he is found dead a few days later, all fingers point to Teeny.
Needless to say, the wedding is off. Adding insult to injury, her fiancé slaps a restraining order on her. When he is found dead a few days later, all fingers point to Teeny.
AND STIR LIKE CRAZY!
Her only hope is through an old boyfriend-turned-lawyer, the guy who broke her heart a decade ago. But dredging up the past brings more than skeletons out of the closet, and Teeny doesn't know who she can trust. With evidence mounting and the heat turning up, Teeny must also figure out where to live, how to support herself, how to clear her name, and how to protect her heart.
Her only hope is through an old boyfriend-turned-lawyer, the guy who broke her heart a decade ago. But dredging up the past brings more than skeletons out of the closet, and Teeny doesn't know who she can trust. With evidence mounting and the heat turning up, Teeny must also figure out where to live, how to support herself, how to clear her name, and how to protect her heart.
My thoughts: Michael Lee West is the quintessential Southern Chick Lit writer, and I love her for it. Her novels always have zany characters, fast paced plots, and demure ditzy southern women with heavy drawls leaping out of the pages at you, ready to entertain and sometimes catch you completely off guard with the twists that I never see coming. Love her, this may be my favorite books of hers to date. And I loved her Crazy Women in Love series, so for Gone (which I believe is the first in a series) to bump Crazy Women? Well I highly recommend this charmingly funny novel.
Posted by Ashley
The synopsis: Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the very literal family skeleton stays buried or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neat and on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 14-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne.
The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable--an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco. Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.
My thoughts: With Borders closing, I made sure to stop in all of the nearby stores when the announcements were made to see which books tickled my fancy. I grabbed one of Joshilyn Jackson's novels, opened it the same night (despite having bought approximately 40 books that night - for some reason her covers just catch me and keep my attention.) and didn't put it down until 3 hours later finished, feeling exhilarated, drained, and intent on finding any and all of her books (there are only 4 so far. Boo.). So the next day, off I went to another Borders to get my grubby hands on any others I could find. After a month of little to no reading, I grabbed this book yesterday and again, refused to put it down until I was done. Everything about a Joshilyn Jackson book (in my limited experience of having read three) is hauntingly melodic and the story seeps in and wraps itself around your brain, demanding your complete attention. Beautifully written, incredibly creepy and 1000% unique, this book was intense and captivating from start to finish for me.
Posted by Ashley
Almost one year ago, Holly and my brother Jason welcomed my gorgeous nephew into the world. The little Halloweenie will be 1 in 10 days.
Beck has brought a lot of joy and changes to Holly's uber sophisticated world in Chicago.
In June, Holly and Jason bid adieu to their gorgeous one bedroom condo they've lived in for the past 6 years as little man needs more space to roam around, and quite frankly, Jason needed to ease up on the 24/7 working situation. Over the last two weeks, the condo has successfully been rented out and their little family trekked in to Chicago to make sure that everything was in tiptop shape for their new occupation as landlords. I know Holly is thrilled that they ended up renting out the place so that someday Beck can see the gorgeous views he saw when they went to check out the place.
Jason took a job in our hometown of Kalamazoo and so off they went, to a place with much more space to run around (and a basketball "court" in the driveway), preparing Beck to take the world by storm in all things sports. Just like Daddy.
The move was met with nothing less than sheer delight by everyone, namely Beckham's grandpa and Aunt Hana who, quite frankly, give me a run for my money in the competition for title of Beck's biggest stalker.
And Beck laps up the attention and adoration with his charming smile and impish laugh. He spends his days walking the Target aisles ahead of Mom, lounging with some snacks, making sure the toilet paper situation is ready when the Mom starts potty training, and refusing to come out of his crib, demanding his books be brought to him. Obviously, Holly's only to happy to oblige with the reading.
Much of my days have been spent worshipping Beckham from afar, and hassling his mom for more pictures and videos (seriously her milestone videos are amazing!), working, more working and saving up (when not shopping) for a house. Oh and buying my first house. On October 1, I officially became a homeowner and I could not be more ecstatic unless my family lived closer to me (The 1200 miles between us is moderately annoying). While I was hoping to find a townhouse on the cheap (the oxymoron there for anyone in the DC metro region should be supremely noticeable), I lucked out in scoring the lower levels of a stacked townhouse.
And I've found I have a desire to redo (not a lot because the place was pretty much gorgeous, albeit with an interesting/difficuly living room layout) myself, so I've taken to purchasing home decor and renovation books (thanks in large part to Borders, where I also procured several amazing cookbooks for $2 to use in my awesome kitchen (middle photo is half of the kitchen cabinets). Look at the size of my master closet (I have 2 master closets! Score!)!
My first project has been to paint. So far, I've got the living room nearly completed
Posted by Ashley
About the book
A strange mishap on her eighteenth birthday causes Grace Kwon to be confronted with herself at three different periods in her life--ages six, twenty-nine, and seventy--while she and her friends struggle to save a crumbling school play.
My take
An excellent graphic novel geared towards young adult women. I really liked the concept, it was new and innovative. I found the pacing to be spot on and the story well laid out. I loved the interactions between Lily's past, present, and future selves. A lesson in living without regrets, check this book out.
Posted by Holly
Like Cerberus, a griffin or one of those joints near Port Authority that’s both a Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell, Jane is a hybrid too horrifying to exist: a hipster-debutante. She was reared in a proper Southern home in North Carolina, and sent to boarding school in Virginia, then a sorority in Chapel Hill. She next moved to New York and discovered that none of this grooming meant a lick to anyone. In fact, she hid her upbringing—it was easier than explaining what a debutante “does” (answer: not much). Anyone who has moved away from home, lived, or dreamed of living in New York, will appreciate the hilarity of Jane’s musings on the intersections of and altercations between Southern hospitality and Gotham cool. I Totally Meant to Do That is a memoir in essays of Borden’s transformation from Southern Belle to Brooklyn hipster to somewhere in between, and also a love letter to the two homes she wanted and between which she ultimately had to choose.
My take
Jane Borden is somewhat funny in her debut memoir. I wouldn't put this in the same category as say Chelsea Handler though. I didn't find myself laughing out loud but I was amused at some points. She tells a very relatable story of leaving home, finding your way and then ultimately feeling that pull back home again. Anyone who has moved to a big city can tell you that they have felt that way at some point or another. Her stories were funny, but tended to drag on a bit at times. I could have used either more meat or more humor, but this sort of fell in between. It was an interesting, yet ultimately forgettable read.
Posted by Holly
Riley’s finding that the afterlife can be a lonely place when all you do is focus on work. So she goes to the place where dreams happen, hoping to find a way to contact her sister, Ever. She meets the director, who tells her about the two ways to send dreams. As a Dream Jumper, a person can jump into a dreamer’s dream, share a message, and participate. As a Dreamweaver, an entire dream can be created in a studio and sent to the dreamer. But Dreamweaving was outlawed decades ago, and the studio was boarded up. Thinking it’s her only way to reach out to her sister, Riley goes in search of the old studio. There she finds a ghost boy, who’s been creating and sending nightmares to people for years. In order to stop him and reach out to Ever, Riley is going to have to confront and overcome her own fears.
My take
One of the greatest things about this series is how tween friendly the books are. They have all the appeal of a YA book in a compact form that is feasible for a middle schooler to finish. Dreamland finds a way to be a light and approachable read, without dumbing down anything. The author manages to weave complex themes throughout this series that will provoke deep thought in the young adults it is geared towards. Noel has a great way with characters, she helps us to understand their motivations and what drives them to act the way they do. I feel like this series can help provide a lot of insight for young adults into understanding people.
Another excellent book in a promising series for Noel. If you haven't started this yet, get to it!
Posted by Holly
HIGH SOCIETY CAN BE A KILLER. Upper East Side socialite Daisy Greenbaum is accustomed to the finer things—designer clothes, summers in the Hamptons, elite private school educations for her daughters, and a staggeringly expensive Park Avenue apartment. But Daisy finds her well-heeled lifestyle on precarious footing after her husband, master of the universe Dick Greenbaum, learns about some shady dealings that threaten his position at The Bank. Daisy refuses to allow her family to slip down the social ladder, so she devises a madcap plan: Anyone who jeopardizes her place at the top will simply have to be dispatched—six feet under. From Dick’s arrogant boss to his scheming former mistress to a pair of nosy bloggers, Daisy’s hit list is a who’s who of big names with even bigger secrets. But with the body count rising as the Dow Jones falls, can Daisy really get away with murder?
My take
Somehow this entire book just doesn't quite work. There is no clear idea as to what kind of a book it is, and it bumbles around trying to be light, yet trying to sound important all at the same time. There is a lot of build up to the end and it just stops, leaving plot lines undone. The characters are poorly developed and there isn't a lot of insight into their behaviors. Mostly they just are perpetually unhappy because of their own behaviors. Don't bother with this one, its not memorable.
Posted by Holly
Ashton Archer has it all. He's the biggest man on his campus, he's got a family fortune waiting for him to transfer into his own account, and his closet and garage are full of the coolest accoutrements available, from flash suits to swank shoes to a zippy Vespa scooter. It appears that nothing can go wrong for this hard-hearted hottie — that is until the sexy and fashionable Margaret Sheldon motors by on her Lambretta. At that moment, Ashton's life takes a turn for the worse. Everyone at school hates him, his father declares bankruptcy, and his scooter gets run over by a truck. Even high-tailing it out of town does him no good, because wherever he goes, Margaret follows. How can he get out of the black curse this woman has placed on his life? By getting her to fall in love with him, of course!
My take
I loved this! The plot was really well thought out and the characters well developed. The pacing was on point also which contributed to this being a really great read. A memorable book, I loved the originality in the story and would recommend this to anyone looking for something "different" to read. A breath of fresh air, this is a graphic novel must read.
Posted by Holly
Meet The Vampress Girls ... By day, Passion, Raven, Sweet, and Page masquerade as human college students. By night, they are members of the fierce rock `n roll band The Vampress Girls The Vampress Girls don't feed off of human blood--they thirst instead for the raw energy of rock `n roll. Together with their mother Love, they are are the sole protectors of The Vampress Code, a book that has been passed down for centuries and holds the key to ancient secrets to the royal bloodlines that separate the vampires from the demons...and good from evil. Shade and The Demon Girls, arch-enemies of The Vampress Girls, are plotting to steal the Vampress Code. If the code falls into the wrong hands, the world as we know it would be destroyed, and demons would roam the earth. Now, The Vampress Girls must face off in an epic battle of the bands in order to save The Vampress Code and the fate of the world as we know it...
My take
I didn't care for this at all. Maybe the junior high set would really enjoy it, but it was too basic for my enjoyment. Its fully of jealousy, revenge and just plain cattiness. There isn't a well developed plot line and the book ends abruptly without an explanation of anything. Pass on this and grab something with more substance.
Posted by Holly
The synopsis: Hannah's parants are glamorous Hollywood royalty, and sometimes she feels like the ugly duckling in a family of swans. After her mother's tragic death, Hannah's grief is compounded by her desperate need to live up to her mother's image. She tries to control her weight through bulemia, and her devastated father is too distracted to notice. The secret of her eating disorder weights heavily on Hannah, but the new eighth grade Beverly Hills clique she's befriended only reinforces her desire to be bautiful. The only one who seems to notice, or care, that something is wrong is Jasper, the quirky misfit.
My thoughts: A while back, I did a review on a book of Katrina Kittle's I'd had on my shelf for far too long before reading it. The Kindness of Strangers was, and still is, one of the most raw, evocative books I've read in the last couple of years and months later, it still resonates. So when Sourcebooks offered me Kittle's first young adult (I think it's actually more middle grade, but I could be wrong), I was intrigued. I'd put Kittle in league with Picoult in terms of bold topics, and though I couldn't necessarily see Picoult's writing style for younger ages, this piqued my interest. The result was incredibly well put together, with a great message for kids without "dumbing it down" or seeming preachy in the least. Holly and I have a 12 year old sister, and I've struggled with some of the topics (as have many, many, entirely too many young girls), and I would love for this book to fall into Hana's hands. While conveying what should be an utterly simple message for young girls, it recognizes just how easy the message gets lost. And it serves as an incredible cautionary tale. It doesn't glamorize the topics, nor does it downplay the severity of the harms young girls can do to themselves at a time when outside sources factor into their self-worth entirely too much. With as much ease as her adult fiction, Kittle won me over with this one.
Posted by Ashley
The synopsis:
Popularity is the best revenge.
In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.
But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.
Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.
My thoughts: Doesn't everyone dream of getting revenge, in some form, on the person who wronged them from their past? Helen has the opportunity and leaps at it because the person who hurt her? It's the person she trusted the most, and felt no remorse for doing what she did. Normally, there would be a couple lessons in here, and some character development on both sides of the fence. This would have made the story formulaic and predictable. One of the classic morals comes through, the other? Not so much. And it made for a fun, quick read with minimal groaning.
In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.
But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.
Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.
My thoughts: Doesn't everyone dream of getting revenge, in some form, on the person who wronged them from their past? Helen has the opportunity and leaps at it because the person who hurt her? It's the person she trusted the most, and felt no remorse for doing what she did. Normally, there would be a couple lessons in here, and some character development on both sides of the fence. This would have made the story formulaic and predictable. One of the classic morals comes through, the other? Not so much. And it made for a fun, quick read with minimal groaning.
Posted by Ashley
After selling through the self-published run of Same Difference and Other Stories in just a few short months, Derek Kirk Kim proudly moves his debut collection to Top Shelf! Through a series of sensitive - and often hilarious - short stories, Kim deftly explores the not-so-average twenty-something's quarter-life crisis, romantic neurosis, and a refreshing slice of Korean-American life.
My take
The first story "Same Difference" was really great. I loved the characters and found the story to be funny and insightful at the same time. The "other stories" weren't very cohesive and that really turned me off. I would have liked them to have had similar themes, but some of them seemed to be the same story told in a different way, and others were out of left field. I am split on this one.
Posted by Holly
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